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    EYE ON INDIA                                                       FEBRUARY 13, 2026       |  The Indian Eye                    6

                         How Mamata Banerjee

                 Turned Voter Roll Revision

                   into a Political Flashpoint

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            di, the ECI was “compelled to appoint
                                                                                                                  micro-observers”  because  the  State
            New Delhi / Kolkata
                                                                                                                  government failed to provide adequate
                     est  Bengal  Chief  Minister                                                                 officers  despite  repeated  requests.
                     Mamata  Banerjee’s  per-                                                                     “We  have  written  several  letters  to
            Wsonal  appearance  before                                                                            the State government asking them to
            the  Supreme  Court  on  Wednesday                                                                    appoint BLOs and other officers,” he
            marked a rare moment in India’s fed-                                                                  told the Court, adding that the State
            eral and electoral politics, transform-                                                               had provided “only about 80 officers”.
            ing a technical dispute over voter roll                                                                   Banerjee,  however,  alleged  that
            revision into a broader political and                                                                 the  use  of  micro-observers  based
            constitutional confrontation over dis-                                                                in  BJP-ruled  States  and  the  deploy-
            enfranchisement,  institutional  trust                                                                ment  of  artificial  intelligence  tools
            and Centre–State relations.                                                                           amounted to centralised control over
                Banerjee’s  decision  to  address                                                                 the voter list. The charge taps into a
            the Bench herself — instead of leav-                                                                  long-standing narrative of federal fric-
            ing the matter entirely to counsel —                                                                  tion between the Trinamool Congress
            underlined  the  political  stakes  she                                                               government and central institutions.
            attaches to the Election Commission
            of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Re-                                                                The Court ultimately issued no-
            vision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West   West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressing a press conference
            Bengal. Alleging that the exercise was                                                                tice to the ECI and granted it
            being  used  to  delete  genuine  voters                     on Thursday (ANI)                        time to examine the new griev-
            rather than correct errors, the Chief
            Minister accused the poll body of se-  across the country.          “We will ensure that no innocent cit-  ances raised by the petitioners,
            lectively  targeting  opposition-ruled   Banerjee  also  highlighted  how   izen is left out,” Chief Justice Surya   listing the matter for further
            States  and  disproportionately  affect-  marital  name  changes  were  being   Kant  observed,  adding  that  minor
            ing women, migrants and the poor.  treated as discrepancies. “A daughter   spelling or dialectal differences could  hearing  on Monday. It  also
                “This SIR is for deletion, not in-  goes to her in-laws’ house after mar-  not be grounds for exclusion. At the   asked the State to provide a list
            clusion,” Banerjee told the Bench led   riage and uses her husband’s surname.   same  time,  the  Court  clarified  that
            by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant,   They are removing her. Is that a rea-  names of deceased or legally disqual-  of Group B officers who could
            alleging that lakhs of voters had been   son to delete her name?” she asked,   ified  persons  would  have  to  be  re-  assist in the process, signalling
            wrongly  flagged  under  “logical  dis-  framing the issue as one of structural   moved in accordance with law.
            crepancies”. According to submissions   exclusion rather than clerical error.  On the contentious issue of Aad-  an attempt to de-escalate the
            made on her behalf, around 58 lakh    The  Chief  Minister  questioned   haar  —  which  Banerjee  alleged  was   administrative deadlock.
            names had already been deleted, near-  both the timing and the geography of   being rejected despite earlier court di-
            ly 88 lakh voters flagged, and close to   the exercise. Conducted during festi-  rections — the Bench said it could not
            three lakh objections were still pend-  vals and harvest season, she argued,   comment, noting that the question of   Beyond  the  legal  questions,  Ba-
            ing — even as the final publication of   the revision coincided with a period   Aadhaar’s validity as proof of citizen-  nerjee’s  courtroom  intervention  has
            the  rolls  was  scheduled  within  days.  when many migrant and rural voters   ship was pending adjudication. “Aad-  political resonance. By stepping into
                At  the  core  of  Banerjee’s  argu-  were away from home. “What was the   haar has its own limitations. We have   the  role  of  petitioner-in-person,  she
            ment was the claim that the process   hurry to do this at such a time?” she   reserved judgment on that issue,” the   has  positioned  herself  not  just  as  a
            ignored  India’s  linguistic  and  social   asked, adding pointedly, “Why West   Chief Justice said.  litigant  but  as  the  public  face  of  re-
            realities.  She  pointed  to  common   Bengal,  why  not  Assam?”  —  a  line   Appearing  for  the  ECI,  senior   sistance  to  what  she  portrays  as  in-
            Bengali surname variations — such as   of argument aimed at reinforcing her   advocate Rakesh Dwivedi rejected al-  stitutional  overreach.  Whether  the
            Datta and Dutta, Roy and Ray, Gan-  claim of selective scrutiny of non-BJP-  legations of arbitrariness, stating that   Court  ultimately  accepts  or  rejects
            guly  and  Ganguli  —  being  treated   ruled States.               notices issued during the SIR already   her  claims,  the  episode  underscores
            as mismatches. “These are not spell-  The  Supreme  Court  sought  to   contained  reasons  for  discrepancies.   how electoral administration — once
            ing mistakes. These are local dialect   strike  a  balancing  tone.  While  de-  He  also  contested  Banerjee’s  charge   largely  procedural  —  has  become
            differences,”  her  legal  team  argued,   clining to halt the process, the Bench   that  the  Commission  had  sidelined   a  central  battleground  in  India’s  in-
            stressing  that  such  variations  exist   assured protection to genuine voters.   State machinery. According to Dwive-  creasingly polarised politics.

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